Feb 1: Write a short story set entirely in an aircraft toilet
....
I sat on the floor with my back to the wall, twirling my laser pen in my hand.
"I can't believe it," Mark said with a breathy laugh.
I looked up.
"What?"
"I mean it's bad enough I murder and steal for a living. Now I'm planning them in airborne bathrooms."
I chuckled.
"I did tell you when you applied for this job that you will do crazy, unimaginable things."
"Yeah..."
The short, comfortable silence was broken by a loud, beeping noise.
We both jumped instantly but then we slumped our shoulders in relief when we realized that it was just my communication device.
I slid it out of my jacket and pushed the red button at the bottom.
The sound ceased and a man's voice came through the speakers at the other end.
"Stay alert. We can reach cruising altitude at any moment. Do you have the tracking device turned on and ready?"
"Yeah, yeah. Once you're ready, inform us," I said.
"Will do and also May?"
"What?"
"No need for the attitude."
I rolled my eyes and turned the device off.
Mark looked amused.
"It's good that it's not him in here. Phew, the plane would've crashed long ago."
"Fact."
He laughed.
"So," he rubbed his palms together, "this is my first time doing this. What exactly is the plan?"
I sighed and slid my backpack off my shoulders, zipped it open and dug my hands in.
Mark looked intrigued as my hand came out with a thin, black, rectangular device.
I raised a brow at him.
"It's the tracker."
"Ohh, I see. So we use it to locate the crystal?"
I frowned, "no, I'm looking for the best ice cream place in South Korea."
"Huh? The crystal is in an ice cream...?"
I facepalmed myself.
"I was being sarcastic, there's no ice cream! Yes, were using it to locate the crystal! Are you always this dense?"
"Oh," he rubbed his hands on the nape of neck and I suddenly felt bad for yelling. "But dang, I'm kinda disappointed. No ice cream."
I stared at this thirty year old man and blinked.
"If we succeed you can have the ice-cream."
He beamed, "yay!"
We both burst out laughing at his height of immaturity but we stopped immediately when we started to hear beeping sounds.
It was the tracking device in my hand.
I swiped the screen and a red blinking dot appeared in the middle.
"That's the-"
"Location of the crystal, yes. It could be anywhere right now. Any random country. All we know is that this plane will be right over it at one point.
He nodded.
"So how do we know which country?"
I didn't take my eyes off the screen.
"The dot will get brighter."
"Interesting."
"And once it stops blinking, we move."
"Move where? How?"
"We jump out of the plane. You have your parachute on?"
Mark looked petrified, "what? What about the other passengers. We can't jump out of this plane without affecting them in the process."
I looked at him solemnly and he shook his head.
"We're bad people. We kill and steal. This is nothing okay? No sympathy, that is the motto."
He was silent for a while but nodded.
I looked back at the screen.
"I hope it's in South Korea."
I laughed, "me too. I'm craving some strawberry....."
"What?"
"It's getting brighter!"
Mark rushed over and we watched as the light got brighter and brighter until it finally stopped blinking.
Boom!
The door burst open and two men rushed in.
It took me a second to realize that one was Henry, the guy who called moments ago.
I didn't recognize the other guy.
Henry grabbed the man by his shirt collar and pushed him against the wall.
"Hen, what's going on?" I screamed.
"This guy has the Crystal! It was in this plane all along!"
That was a shocker.
"Hand it over now or you get shot!" Henry yelled and signalled to me.
I dragged a gun out of my pocket and aimed at the stranger's forehead.
He finally surrendered and pulled an amber necklace out of his pocket.
We all sucked in a sharp breath at the sight.
Henry immediately reached out to collect it but then something weird happened.
The stranger had his back to a mirror on the wall so he pushed himself backwards a little and the mirror's surface rippled.
Before I knew what was happening he dissolved into the mirror and vanished.
"No!!!" We all yelled and I fired a shot at the mirror.
But it was too late.
"What the hell? Is he human?"
We didn't have time to think about that because a flight attendant rushed into the bathroom to know what the noise what all about.
"What's going on here?!"
"We can explain!" Henry said.
Suddenly, the plane began to shake violently.
"What's happening?" Mark yelled as he slid to the side of the bathroom, trying to grope for something to hold on to.
We all lost our balance and fell as the plane bent sideways.
The pilot came on the intercom.
I couldn't make out the words but I definitely heard the word crash.
I looked at the Henry and Mark and they both had grave expressions on their faces.
---
I tried my best.
